SRA Transparency

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORK:

You will always know which member of staff has primary conduct of your case. In addition to this, we act as a team at this office and at different times you may be attended by other members of staff.

THE TEAM:

Martin Cray: Solicitor Advocate of the Senior Courts, Rights of Audience in all Courts;

Tim Wake: Barrister;

James Yates: Solicitor Advocate of the Senior Courts;

Donna Robinson: Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals specialising in family;

James Bergin: Legal Assistant,

Charlotte Cray: Called to the Bar but not practising as a Barrister.

Working as a team provides considerable cost savings to you because it allows us to decide on the appropriate member of the firm for each aspect of the case. Of course, you can also specify a particular member of the team if you wish, provided they have the appropriate expertise. As you see from the fees, straightforward tasks can be conducted by less senior members of the team at a considerably lower cost.

FEES

Fees charged will be calculated by reference to the time spent by the member of the team dealing with this matter. This includes advocacy, preparation, advising, attending on you and others, dealing with papers, correspondence, telephone calls, travelling and waiting time.

The charge rates are as follows: –
Martin Cray, solicitor with over 30 years of experience charges £290.00 per hour plus VAT and disbursements.
Tim Wake and James Yates’ charges are £190 per hour.
Donna Robinson’s is £130 per hour.
James Bergin’s is £118 per hour, all excluding VAT and disbursements.

These hourly charging rates are those agreed by the Designated Civil Judge for the Brighton area in January 2010.

SRA RULES:

As a bespoke law firm, we only offer fixed fees on certain divorce proceedings. It can therefore be difficult to pinpoint exactly how much each individual case will cost. However, due to wide-ranging experience in a variety of legal issues, we do have some average fee guidance on certain matters. For example;

Motoring Offences-

Summary only motor offences will be charged at 1 hour of the appropriate fee earner’s time.

In the event that a ‘not guilty’ plea is made, the cost for summary only motoring offences, including trial, will be approximately £1,200 + VAT. However, if a guilty plea is made subsequent mitigation will be approximately £750 + VAT.”

Employment tribunals will be charged at the appropriate fee earner’s hourly rate.

Debt recovery will be charged at the appropriate fee earner’s hourly rate.

Undisputed probate will be charged at the appropriate fee earner’s hourly rate but the cost – on average – is around £5,000 + VAT, although this will depend on the size and complexity of the estate. This cost is generally recoverable from the estate as an estate expense.

Will drafting will be charged at the appropriate fee earner’s hourly rate but the cost – on average – is £250 + VAT for a simple will and £350 + VAT for simple mirror wills.